


Leather

by twowritehands



Category: The Middle
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Biker AU, Friends to Lovers, Just a wholesome but badass looking biker gang, M/M, No drugs either, Non-violent biker gang, lol, mostly just indulgent fantasy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-24
Updated: 2017-02-24
Packaged: 2018-09-26 17:23:08
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,626
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9913022
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/twowritehands/pseuds/twowritehands
Summary: AU where Sean joined a biker gang instead of becoming a hippie...Axl's world is rocked by his motorcycle riding friend in leather and the freedom his new lifestyle brings.*link to story banner inside*





	

[Banner](http://axlheckkissedaboy.tumblr.com/post/157669213924/reblogging-as-a-non-gif-because-pic-wont-load-in)

**I can't get the banner to actually show up here and idk why bc i've done it 100 times before. what is it about this one? IDK**

 

: : :

Axl will never forget the day New Sean came into his life.

The neighbors threw a homecoming tailgate party. Axl had just broken up with Devin and was maybe coming down with something. He just had zero energy these days. Then, an old friend appeared before him. Transformed.

Muddy boots clipping against the asphalt, ragged jeans hugging his ass and thighs _just right_ , leather jacket half zipped around his trim waist, zippers and chains glistening in the sun. He smiled through a scruffy beard and said, “Ax Man, how’s it goin’?”

Mouth dry, Axl cracked something short like “not much.” His mind was blown. Was this Sean Donahue? His Sean? It couldn't be! How? This guy didn't look like a straight A student with a chastity promise ring who let his mother teach him how to crochet.

 Nearby Nancy Donahue told anyone who would listen that it was surely just a phase and her son would be into something else by the end of the semester. Axl hoped not. Few things were sexier than a rugged man in leather.

 “Got a bike?”

 “Yeah, want to see it?”

Axl smiled and matched stride toward the Donahue driveway. He could see it from here and from what he knew about bikes, it was a good one. Sean rattled off the stats and Axl whistled. “She’s a beauty.”

Sean chortled and gently thumped Axl on the flank. “He.”

“What?”

“The bike. He.”

Hot breath rattled out of Axl. “Oh yeah?” 

“It's what I ride.”

Was he blushing? Yes. Could it be helped? No. Axl’s heart just couldn't find the brakes, careening further and further out of control. He tried speaking but not much more than nervous titters of laughter came out. 

“Want to go around the block?” Sean handed out the keys. Axl stepped back. “Really? Just like that? I thought you bikers were really possessive of your wheels?”

Another one of those heart stopping smiles aimed right at him. Sean bumped his shoulders. “I trust you.”

He didn't need a second invite. Axl stuck his tongue in his teeth and snatched the keys. Sean handed over a helmet as he moved to the front with some tips on how to handle it.

Axl started the engine. The roar and raw power stopped his heart. He laughed merrily over the racket. Sean laughed too, clapping even. “Yeah! There you go! Let him rip!”

He would have loved to tear ass out of that driveway but the block party was in the way. They were clearing a path for him as he rolled along, but he couldn't risk it. It was still awesome even at school zone speeds. He felt like such a badass.

A lap around the neighborhood, getting compliments from random passers-by (mixed with headshakes from older people who hated the noise) and Axl had decided that just as soon as he had the money, he was getting one of these for himself.

On his return to the Donahue’s, he saw Sean in a heated argument with his father. Not good. Axl tried to park the bike and get out of there without being noticed.

“Wear what you like at school, son, it's what college is all about, but as long as you are under my roof you will follow my rules and responsible grown men do not dress like gang bangers!”

Sean turned from Ron, shaking his head in repressed rage. To Axl, he said, “Don't shut it off. I'm out of here.”

Axl got out of the way. Sean revved the engine as he straddled the bike. “See you around, Ax.”

Peeling out of there, he left a mark on the pavement. The party split like the Red Sea, the roar of the engine bounced off the sky. Dogs barked.

Axl squinted in the light after him, worried. Nancy rushed over, beside herself. Axl shot them both an uncomfortable look and wandered back home. He couldn't believe that just happened. Wow, college really changed some people.

The pretty boy jock turned rough and gruff biker. Openly defying his parents…. calling his bike a He. That could only mean one thing, right?

 

In the shower, Axl had to adjust the knobs to cool down. And in the middle of the night, he woke gasping for breath, clutching the sheets, mind swirling with visions of strong arms, stronger thighs, and scruffy chins.

Disoriented, it took several seconds before he knew where he was, who he was. Did that just happen? A wet dream. About Sean in leather….

He went to the bathroom to clean up. He smiled the entire time. As he fell back to sleep, he indulged himself with thoughts of more scruffy kisses, warm hugs, and fast rides down open roads…. 

Sean came back, still a disappointment in the Donahue’s eyes but ever the more intimidating to Axl. This time, his beard was even thicker, his shoulders had definitely grown broader and he wore sunglasses. Axl felt certain that he would not have recognized this man on the street if he didn't already know who it was, didn't cyber stalk him and daydream about being taken apart and then taken away.

Sean Donahue, living proof that gods walked among men. Something extraordinary bloomed from the mundane. Pure sex in human form.

“This is where I'm at,” he told Axl, passing over a slip of paper. On it, Axl recognized the name of the motel between here and Gumford. “Come see me before the break is over.”

“Totally!”

“Cool. I'd stay but my parents would only make a scene.”

Axl nodded in what he hoped was a sympathetic manner. Seriously, what a freaking rock star, taking his own life by the horns. Following his own happiness. To hell with his overbearing, hidebound parents. Seizing life and youth while he had it.

Was it possible to die of envy?

He held onto that slip of paper for six hours. Folded it and curled it until it fell apart in his hands. After dinner, he announced he was going out to meet friends. No one even asked which friends. He had so many they had no reason to assume it was Sean the Neighborhood Cautionary Tale.

Axl’s rusty old car made it to the motel without incident, which he typically took as a good sign. If God really didn't want him here a dead car battery or an oil leak would have sent the message loud and clear.

The motel parking lot had seven other bikes parked in it. Axl eyed them all. Was it even safe to be here?

He knocked. Sean answered wearing just his jeans and the kind of muscle tone Axl would die for. Axl blurted it before his filter could kick in, “Are you in a gang?”

Sean let him in and they talked for a couple of hours about his new friends. Technically, the answer was yes, Sean did now belong to a biker gang. But according to him, they were great men and women whose only crime was not conforming to the nuclear family ideal of success.

“Life is too short to waste in one place, doing one thing.” Sean said, so passionate he couldn't even sit still. He rocked out of his seat and paced the room. Axl didn't mind. Sean’s half naked body looked even better in motion.

“I quit Notre Dame. I just can't stand the idea of sitting in the same classrooms for four years just to get a degree and sit in even more classrooms for another four years and then work night and day in some hospital somewhere until I look up and I'm an old man.”

Ripped from adoring muscle tone and the sway of hips, Axl choked, “You dropped out?”

“I transferred to an online college. I'm going to get a degree but on my terms, while I see the world and experience life.”

Axl huffed. “Wow.”

“Yeah. I'm really excited about this.”

“You should be. It sounds so fun. Sorry your parents freaked. I guess they are just in shock.”

“Yeah. Hopefully they’ll come around. If not…” he shrugged, clearly unable to finish the thought.

Axl sat beside him and put an arm around him. Firm, hard muscle.  “You’ll have your friends.”

Sean grinned at him. “Maybe more than that?”

Belly swooping low--or maybe heart soaring high--the axis of the world seemed to tilt. Axl fidgeted. Sean stilled Axl's hand against his thick thigh, moved closer.

Axl felt a tickle of beard, a light brush of breath, and the softest, most thorough kiss of his life. It was something that unfolded and swallowed him whole. He melted into it. Physical orientation faded away. Up? Down? Didn't matter, he swam in the delicious caress until it broke like a wave over his head.

Sean looked over at him. They had reclined at some point. Axl had brought a bare heel up on the edge of the bed. Sean lay next to him, arms cradling him, jeans somehow lower than before.

It took everything Axl had to drag his eyes off the visible tan line. Sean didn't need him to speak. A few shy smiles said it all. A sneaky hand slipping beneath Axl's shirt asked a question. A kiss from Axl answered it.

“If junior high us could seen us now.”

Sean snorted lightly as they got out of their jeans and came back together in nothing but shorts. “Oh god, it would look like one of those cheesy pornos.”

Axl stopped kissing. Sean’s eyes shuddered with regret. “This isn't cheap, Ax--you’re not--”

“No, you're right.”

“I didn't mean--”

Axl pried himself out of the bed and got dressed in record time. Sean ended up sitting alone in the center of the mattress, scrambling to form a sentence. “It--that-- it’s just what fourteen year old Sean would think! Don't go!”

Heart burning in his throat, Axl gulped and tried to hide the shaking in his fingers. “Look, I'm happy you broke out of your mould or whatever, but a late night hook up in a motel isn't exactly the dream first time I'm looking for.”

Was that even true or was he just looking for an excuse to bail? No. How many times had he imagined having gay sex? He lost count but he never pictured a place like this and that had to mean something.

“Wait--please--”

“Maybe some other time. See ya, Sean.”

Axl let the door slam on his way out, mainly to convince himself he should not stay. The cool night air helped clear his mind even more. Yes. This was good. The right thing.

Some stuff just required a little more effort than this.

A pair of leather vested individuals loitering beneath a light post turned to watch him walk to his car. They didn't make a single move towards him, but Axl felt nervous all the same. He smiled politely and tried not to fumble his keys too much as he got in the car.

While he drove, he went over the events of the night. The talking had been good. Enlightening even. And, _damn_ , the wings of his hips in those low slung jeans. But all the other stuff--answering the door half naked, sitting close on the bed, kissing and grinding and going even further without a single word...

 _Bow chika wowow_ the cheesy music fit over the highlight reel perfectly. Fourteen year old Sean was right.

A laugh broke past Axl’s lips. What? He laughed some more. At a red light, he dialed Sean's number.

“I'm sorry, Ax,” Sean answered.

Axl just laughed. “Dude, did you seriously watch porn when you were fourteen?”

“Yeah. Didn't you?”

“Ha! I wish. I can't believe you did. Goody two shoes Sean watching dirty movies. I'm starting to think life in the Donahue household wasn't as pristine as it looked from outside.”

“Then you'd be right. The suburbs man.”

Axl sucked in a breath. “I'm sorry, dude.”

“Hey. First world problems. No lasting damage. Anyway, that's the beauty of the open road. I can leave all the bullshit behind.”

“Where are you headed?"

“The lakes. One of the guys has a big family thing for the holidays and we’re welcome if we don't have anywhere better to be.”

“When will you be back in town?”

“Uh...Whenever, really.”

Axl took a few steady breaths and then just said it. “New Years? Can I see you for News Years Eve?”

: : : :

“5….4….3….2….1. HAPPY NEW YEAR!”

Sean hooked an arm around Axl's waist and kissed him in the shadowy corner of the bar.  After an entire evening of both behaving like perfect gentlemen with nothing more than smiles and the occasional nudge of an elbow, this kiss was overdue and flooded with pent up desire. Being pressed against leather and muscle with beard scratching his lips uncorked something in Axl, making him feel wilder and freer than ever. They swayed dangerously, bumped the wall, and broke apart.

Other couples kissed their hearts out to herald the new year while still more toasted and drank and danced. Sean guided Axl out a side door into peaceful, cold night.

The bikes stood lined up at the curb. Traffic moved through the intersection of the moderately sized metropolis. They had driven about an hour to get here. Axl had never held onto another person as tightly or for as long as he had on the back on Sean's bike, surrounded by the deafening thunder of ten other bikes.

The others were alright, just like Sean had said. Some were close to their age. Some could almost be grandparents. All of them showed clear affection for their newest brother and “his fella” as Axl had come to be known.

That was the weirdest part of all. How could a bunch of gang bangers be more open and accepting than the suburbs? Clearly something was out of whack.

But Axl didn't like to dwell on it and drank a little too much. With alcohol coursing through his veins, he had made the others laugh by snapping his fingers in his best Bitch impression.  Now, the fresh air felt bracing and sobered him just a little so that his giggles died down and he left the Bitchy Twink game behind with the confetti of the party.

Even slightly sobered, he had trouble walking in the shadows of the alley. He tripped on something, maybe a broken bottle. Sean caught him.

“Careful.”

“Haha. Yeah great way to start the year, a chipped tooth and a faceful of glass.”

“Cold?” Sean asked.

Before he could confirm that yes he was shivering from cold, Sean’s leather jacket settled around his shoulders. Sean’s body heat enveloped him as did his smell. Something musky but soapy and poignant.

“Ha! You make me feel like a princess, man.”

“Do you like it?”

“A little. I like how your new friends don't care if I am one or not.”

Sean’s breath showed up in the air. “Come on, Ax. Of course they don't care. And you don't have to act flamboyant to make it okay to be here with me. We're not the stereotypical biker and his twink. This is _real_.”

This sobered him more than the night air. “Really?”

“Be yourself, Ax. They'll like you better that way ... I will too.”

“So you don't want a princess? ”

“I’ll take a prince as cute as you any day of the week. Snow-white, eat your heart out.”

A hiccup disrupted their kiss. Axl grunted and dragged Sean's hips closer, but hiccuped again before their lips could reconnect. Sean pulled away.

“Yeah, let's find a room…” Axl said. A motel sign glowed across the street. Perfect.

They crossed traffic at a light jog. Sean pulled his chained wallet from his jeans and paid for the room in cash. Axl narrowed his eyes. “Where do you get money?”

“I work.”

“Doing what?”

“Bartending. Great tips.”

Axl laughed. He was going to bed with a bartender biker sex god who smelled like soft leather and sandalwood. He could not stop giggling and hiccuping.

Inside the room, he kissed Sean again, no holes barred now that they were in private. But it broke too soon. “No. We need to stop.” Sean pulled away, gently prying Axl's hands from around his neck. “Slow down. Just. Stop.”

“Oh, whatever. Motel smotel. Who cares? Why does doing it like a porno have to be a bad thing? You're just so freaking hot.”

Sean held him off. Axl felt his belly flutter at the bulge of muscle in his friend’s arms. His eyes were serious. “You're drunk. Not tonight, Ax. Get some sleep.”

“What? Are you freaking kidding me?” He continued to protest verbally, but physically he allowed Sean to steer him to the nearest bed, undress him, and tuck him in.

“Shaaa-awwn,” Axl sang from the pillows. “Forget about being a knight in shining armor. Come tear my clothes off and just _do me_ already!”

Looking troubled, Sean returned from the bathroom with a paper cup of water. “Drink this.”

Axl downed it like a double and slammed it to the table. Sean laughed and pushed his hair gently from his eyes. “Sleep, man. I’ll still be here in the morning.”

Eyes heavy, Axl mumbled further protest until he dropped off to sleep.

Waking in a strange bed in a dingy motel room with the worst hangover of his life made Axl regret being born, along with a long list of other regrets.

“Oh gaaaahd. What did I do last night?”

“Nothing,” Sean assured gently. He stroked Axl's shoulder and pet his hair as he hurled into the toilet. “We welcomed the new year with one too many drinks, stumbled across the road and got a room and passed out on our faces.”

Axl propped an elbow on the seat and rubbed his head, eyes screwed shut. “I remember a lot of kissing.”

“We did kiss a couple of times. For tradition.”

Axl chuckled miserably. “Why aren't you hung over?”

“I only had a few beers.”

“And you let me do shots alone?”

“I think you were trying to take the edge off.”

“Edge off what?”

Sean ran a hand down the ridges if his spine, gave him a lopsided smile, and changed the subject. Check out time was in a few minutes. They needed to get their things together and meet up with the others.

Axl rinsed his mouth out and stared at his pale reflection. If his hazy memory served, he had fully intended to have gay sex last night. It was sort of his only new year resolution in so far as he wanted to try new things, explore things that excited him. This new Sean certainly did that.

“Oh no. Did I beg you to 'do me’?”

Sean chuckled. Axl felt his cheeks flame and he hid his face in his denim jacket with a scream of agony. Sean's lips glanced off his temple. “It was sweet. Don't worry.”

Axl trembled on the inside. He never knew that was possible, for every organ in the ribcage to flutter all at once. To mask it, he threw his head back with a dramatic sigh. “Whatever! Gahd! Just forget that! I cannot be held accountable for drunk-Axl’s actions!”

“Fair enough,” Sean said easily, eyes twinkling.

Let off the hook, but only _just_ , Axl breathed a little easier. He couldn't wait to get back home to normal life and pretend this was another vivid wet dream.

God knows he had plenty of them to lose in the shuffle.

The ride back to Gumford was over an hour of memorizing the feel of Sean's solid torso and the smell that really should be in a candle. Someone could make a fortune, call it something like Daring, or Truth, or Freedom… or maybe Axl was still just drunk.

When they dropped him off at campus he tried, really tried, to just be himself, like Sean had suggested last night. But between his splitting headache and new year resolution and swirling, mixed feelings about the reputation he had to uphold on campus, he just wasn't sure who exactly he was at the moment.

“Call me,” Sean said. Axl nodded, and ran all ten fingers through his hair as the gang roared away.

Other students stopped and stared at him and the loud pack merging back onto the interstate. Axl blinked several times and made his way back to the ant-infested and practically condemned frat house.

: : :

An RV represented a level of freedom that Axl had been itching for for years now. The option to just hit the road and not look back. He could go anywhere, do anything.

Theoretically.

Realistically, obviously, he had to stay close to Gumford for class and football. Stupid football. Seriously, it had finally gotten to the point of ridiculousness. The freshmen were just getting bigger every year. He never left the bench.

Taco towered over him, and had this way of grinning at him over other people’s heads that just…. Axl was flattered but he couldn't go there. Not with a teammate. Not with some kid younger than him who--it was pretty safe to assume--had a few notches on that belt.

Sean’s number had changed twice since the last time they talked in person. Bartending at several different bars across the country (not state, _country;_ his gang went _everywhere_ ) didn't always leave him with enough to afford a decent cell plan.

They stayed in touch in a patchwork of ways between 'new number who dis?’ texts and Twitter and the grapevine. (Nancy had resorted to bragging about Sean's extensive travels as if he was a rogue scholar, so Frankie sometimes ranted to Axl’s retreating form about some sons staying in touch from New Mexico while others couldn't bother to say hi when he stopped by to do his laundry.)

Summer had but a few weeks left before the gang roared back into town. Only five of them this time.

“There’s a cluster. Three birthday parties, a family reunion, and a honeymoon. Jon and Barb got hitched, so it's just us for now.”

“Congratulations Jon and Barb!” Axl said.

Sean bobbed his head. “Yeah, finally. They've only been together for twenty years.”

Axl swung a leg over the bike and settled against Sean's sun warmed back. The smell of hot leather invaded his nose. He refrained from a heavenly sigh and controlled his erection. “Where are we going?”

Sean revved the engine. “You pick.”

“Me?!?” Axl jammed a helmet on over his curls and glanced at the other five bikers. They grinned at him like he was a kid at Christmas. “I don't know!”

“It can be anywhere. You’re off from school, right?” a woman asked.

“Well, yeah. But I have an internship…”

“Oh yeah? Good for you!”

“Whatever. It's boring as hell. But I have to be back by Monday.”

“Three days…” Sean grinned over at his friends. “Michigan it is then.”

They cheered and started their bikes. Sean's came to life with a viscous purr between their legs.

“Michigan?” Axl asked lowly in Sean's ear.

“You’ll see. Hang on tight.”

Several hours and pit stops later, the sun set. Axl had never been on a bike in the dark and held on tighter. He also couldn't feel his ass from the constant vibrations. How did Sean go all over the map like this?

“Almost there,” Sean called back to him. His broad, calloused hand covered Axl’s, where he had subconsciously balled Sean's shirt in his fist.

“Good!”

After a couple of winding back roads, they pulled up to a small cabin and parked in grass. When all the bikes shut off at once, eerie silence fell. Axl moved off the bike gratefully but didn't like the thick, creepy darkness of the strange new place around him.

“Where are we?”

“Mark’s place.”

Axl scrambled to remember which one Mark was. He couldn't keep it straight so just said, “Mark has a house?”

“Mark has three houses. We migrate between them a lot. He’s such a great guy. Always looking to help people like me get a good start. He's the one that helped Jesse get his job when he graduated.”

Axl did know which one Jesse was. Jesse had been a senior at Notre Dame when Sean was a freshman. They had met somehow on campus and become fast friends. These days he was a freelance journalist. Axl grinned now at the tall guy with red hair in a braid that lay over his leather vest that was covered in patches that said things like _free healthcare now_. “That's cool.”

The pack dispersed through the house, so Sean's voice lowered to something just for Axl. “Yeah, I basically live here most of the year. Work in town, use Mark’s wifi for classes. Thanks to him I actually have money in the bank.”

Axl laced their fingers. “I like it here. Seems quiet.”

“Yeah. Except in summer. His grandkids come for the summer.”

That helped Axl narrow it down to one of the older members of the gang. “Hm. Not developing some kind of will they won't they romance with one of them are you?”

Sean pulled a face. “No! They're just little kids.”

“Good.” Axl said, mildly stunned at the force of his own relief. It was already bad enough that he frequently saw the red headed Jesse goofing off in so many of Sean’s profile pics. One of them had looked like they were naked in a river and Axl hadn't slept for weeks. And before he knew it, he was talking about football and Taco and how everything just sort of seemed to pile up at once. _Something_ had to give and as much as he wanted it to be football, realistically, he couldn't afford college without the scholarship. And since he couldn't drop out or fail any of his classes…..

“Sounds like I arrived just in time.” Sean said. He tilted his head toward the back door. “Come with me.”

They cut through a TV room, brushing between knees and the coffee table. Sean snagged two beers from a cooler and Axl commented on the game rerun but they didn't stay in there. Sean led him through a sliding glass door into the night.

A small, uncovered porch showed them the stars. Axl became aware of the sound of lapping water. Belatedly, he realized the cabin was lakeside. Lake Michigan stretched out before them. Lights moved on the horizon. Ships.

“Wow.”

“Great here, isn't it?”

“Yeah.”

Sean pulled him to a tree where there was a padded swing. The chain groan a little with each gentle push. They sat close and watched the lights on the water. Their hands were still clasped. Sean's nose sank into his curls, and his beard tickled Axl's temple again.

He gulped. Feelings and crazy encounters from over the years stirred beneath the surface. The things they had almost done, the circumstantial reasons it ended up not happening after all…. Axl wouldn't change a thing.

He leaned into Sean. “Have you….ever…?”

“No.” Sean spoke so softly it could have been telepathy. His hands tightened on Axl's body.

“I want to…” Axl whispered back. “With you. Happen to know you're a good first to have, so….”

Sean swelled, smiling. “Yeah. Me, too. It was so hard to resist at New Year's. You don't even know, Ax... But it wouldn't have been right then either. I want it to be right.”

Axl turned his head and kissed him. The swing swayed and groaned a little under their shifting weight as the kissing session stretched over the face of a clock. Sean’s lips and tongue were stuff of dreams, just enough scratchy beard, softness, and bite; the baby bear of the Goldilocks tale. Just right.

They invaded each other's clothes. Axl shifted and straddled him with handfuls of leather creaking in his fists and zippers biting into him. Sean’s beard grazed his neck, his teeth bit down on the place where his neck met his shoulder, causing Axl to harden and rut. He could see the house now, with its warm light filled windows and the large patio doors like a giant eye looking at them.

“Do you have your own room?” Axl asked. Sean grunted, lips too busy working on his tingles-provoking lovebite.

“Take me there. I feel like they can see us here…”

Sean glanced back at the house, then up into Axl's face. “They'd hear every bit of it in there…. Come with me.”

They marched hand in hand closer to the water. By moonlight, Axl could see a dock and a small building. A covered shed. Inside, two motorboats, one of which Sean threw back the cover to reveal cushioned seats.

Axl hopped in. Sean banged his knee doing the same and they laughed. A lot of shuffling, the squeak of Axl’s sneakers and thud of riding boots against fiber glass, cool night air and the persistent lap of water against the shore, these details fell away as they touched each other, and moved against each other. Sean’s breathing went erratic quickly, and he gasped between thrusts something about needing Axl so bad for so long. Needing him forever. Then he spilled, a voiceless cry into the space between them.

“Sean, I--” _feel the same way_ was basically what Axl started to say but the words were lost as Sean went down.

The wet heat of his mouth robbed Axl of coherent thought. Seconds later, he arched high as his hips jerked and twitched involuntarily.

“Thanks,” he said with a happy laugh and Sean laughed too. “Yeah that was pretty awesome, wasn't it?”

They didn't speak of Sean’s breathy confession in the heat of the moment. It was almost like it never was. How could it have been when it was so light and easy and fun between them now? If it had meant anything, then things would be awkward right? Because how would it work between them with Axl stuck in Gumford and Sean living here?

He must have heard wrong. That was all. Sean just meant he needed release, because he was seriously overdue for it the same as Axl. He didn't mean he needed _Axl_ specifically. Yeah, that was it. All it was. No big deal.

They continued to joke and laugh there in the bottom of the boat all night. They fell asleep, tucked in together under the heat of Sean's leather jacket, heads on the removed cushions, and legs tangled.

Sunlight and birdsong woke them early. Too early. Stiff and still too tired to complain, they stretched and wandered back into the house.

 

Mark turned out to be a super cool guy and told Axl all about his success in business that had allowed semi retirement and world travel with the best of friends. Jesse was nothing to worry about, either, because he had a fiance, a curvy blonde biker chick with a neck tattoo, who turned out to be Mark’s niece. She had a successful Etsy shop where she made custom patches for biker vests. 

All in all, spending real time with them really set Axl at ease about the gang once and for all. They were great people, just like Sean always said, living alternative but successful lifestyles that weren't wrong for being different.

The next night, they slept in Sean's room and didn't do more than kiss and cuddle because he was right, the walls were paper thin; they heard everything Jesse and his girl did.

It was way more comfortable than the boat and Axl had great dreams. Unfortunately, he couldn't remember them in the morning because they had to hit the road in order to make it back to Gumford by Monday morning.

Axl gave Sean gas money at the first pit stop and bought him candy at the second, swapping kisses whenever possible. When they reached campus at sundown, Axl was sorry to have to leave.

He gave Sean a big kiss--even though they were all watching--and said goodbye. Managed to hold it together until they were out of sight. Then he sat down on the ground and had a quick, super low-key but powerful little cry.

He just had to. Why was it so stupidly hard to part from someone after sex? It wasn't like he was never seeing Sean again.

Luckily the tears had already abated and were dried away and everything before a safety cart stopped in front of him.

“Need a ride home?” the red head boy asked kindly. Axl hopped on board.

“Thanks.”

“Bad night?”

“Just a really long day.”

Taking the cue that Axl didn't feel like talking, the driver let the short trip be silent. He got a thankful fist bump for his understanding. Then Axl braced himself to enter the RV and answer questions about the Weekend like it had only been okay and not, in a word, incredible.

 

Axl watched Sean's Facebook status very closely for the next few days. It never changed from single. Which meant what happened at the lake was between friends. A bro helping another bro out--but of course it was. Axl had spent the entire evening ranting about his suffocating life as a business major and second-string football player who had guys named Taco hitting on him in the locker room. He had practically begged for it, and Sean had clearly needed a rut buster himself.

If he had wanted anything more he would have asked. The night would have gotten significantly heavier than it did. The more Axl thought about it the bigger his smile grew. A willing, enthusiastic first for scary new things no strings attached. That was a true friend.

Life carried on. Axl dated. Casually. Nothing special. Just blowing off more steam. Sowing his wild oats. Learning stuff. Getting into trouble and getting out of trouble and generally behaving like a unattached twenty three year old man with great hair should.

Then, before he knew it, graduation day arrived.

He spent the day with his family. They acted like he achieved this great feat when all he managed to do was make C's and B’s and _not_ get any job offers, so he made very clear, unashamed plans to go to a party with friends and get hammered.

He acted like it was a social thing, though, like he couldn't let the Legend fade unceremoniously. But really, he just needed to freaking escape before his crushing failure paralyzed him.

Sean didn't make it to town for the event. Axl never even formally invited him, but he must have known through the grapevine. Frankie definitely would have lorded it over Nancy that Axl was graduating _on schedule_ whereas Sean had three more years at the rate he was picking his way through online courses.

To his credit, Sean did send a cheesy pop up card and a few messages over their patchwork of social media connections. He couldn't get off work to drive down. Axl didn't hold it against him. In truth, it would just be ten times worse if Sean was there to see him flub two more job interviews.

Kenny and Hutch had a party in full swing by the time Axl got away from his proud family. He smiled and wished his best friends good luck in their future endeavors. He had made up his mind on the way here. Now he packed his bags.

“Where are you going, man? Party’s just getting started!”

“Michigan. Job offer,” he lied.

“Oh, congrats, dude!”

“Thanks. Do whatever you want with her.” He gave Hutch his key to the RV and tossed his bags in the car.

If God let this rust bucket make it to Michigan, then it was meant to be.

 

Sean had the bike parked in a small garage, grease up to his elbows as he worked on it. A woman's voice read a classic novel from an iPod balanced on the motorcycle’s seat. 

Axl watched him work quietly. For once, he wasn't in leather. Just worn jeans and one of those dime a dozen white t shirts. His biceps looked amazing in the snug sleeves. His smile was perfect when he chuckled at the sophisticated jokes in the audio he listened to. Something that sounded British. He was so cute yet so ruggedly handsome, it made Axl's stomach hurt. “School work?”

Sean whirled. His jaw dropped and he sprang up, spilling some tools to the packed earth under his boots. “Oh my god?!?” He fumbled to shut off the audio book.

Axl dropped his bag and embraced him. Sean squeezed him so tight his feet left the ground. “What are you doing here? It's so good to see you!”

Heart ringing in his ears, he closed his eyes and breathed deep to capture the best smell in the world.

“I'm finished, man. You're looking at a college grad!”

“I know, that's so great!” His eyes shone bright with his smile. His hands didn't leave Axl’s body but hung on greedily. “But how did you find the time to come all the way up here? I thought you would have some flashy job interviews and apartment searches and stuff. I was getting ready for a trip down to see you and celebrate properly.”

“Yeah, I…” The words froze on his tongue. Some ink on the inside of Sean’s bicep had caught his eye. _Axl forever_. Breathless, he stared.

Sean realized what he was looking at and became nervous. “I, uh…”

“Wait. Is that...?”

The biker plucked at his sleeve as if to hide it. Then in a strained, choked voice confessed. “Uh. Yeah.... Yeah, Ax.”

The night in the boat, the things Sean had gasped as he rutted in a frenzy against Axl’s bare cock-- _need you, I need you._ The way Axl had pretended not to hear what it meant and Sean--he just went along instead of correcting him. Oh god. But then, what about the perpetually single status on Facebook and no apparent effort to take Axl off the market? Over a year of this charade, and for what?

“Why,” Axl met his eye, stunned. “Why didn't you just tell me?”

Sean gulped and looked away. Axl knew why. It was the same reason he had deliberately misinterpreted him on the boat. This was so huge. They weren't ready then.

“Would you have finished school if I did?”

Axl laughed, because he had a good point.  He had been looking for a good excuse to quit school and football. "Yeah, probably not…”

His throat closed. Were they ready now? The look in Sean’s eyes said yes. This man was done waiting. It made a tremor roll up Axl’s spine and he buried his face in his muscled chest.

Sean kissed the top of his head. Axl trembled again and balled the t-shirt in both fists. A dry snort lightened the mood. “You got a fucking tattoo.”

“Yep.”

“When?”

“A few weeks ago. It just healed actually.”

“Well... I'm flattered,” he said, lamely.

Sean’s body tensed. His lips grazed his ear and kissed the crown of his head again. “I love you, Axl. So much there's a part of me that won't ever stop loving you.”

Axl’s jaw moved but no words could come out. Oh god. This was so huge. He didn't know what to say. He pushed his face further into Sean’s pecs. Yes, he'd driven all the way up here on a wild hope to pick up where they left off last time, but to have it all thrown at him just like that was a lot to handle. He cared, a lot;  _so much._ But was it enough to say he won't ever stop either?

“How do you know?” he whispered, shaking again. “How can you be sure of something like that?”

Sean lifted his head to look deep into his eyes, and stroked his hair. The wisdom of four years on the road, seeing the world gave him the credibility needed to make a statement like that. “Just am.”

The quake in Axl’s body finally burst from his lips in a wet sounding laugh. He checked it quick, and said, “Okay. Good, because--I love you, too.”

Sean audibly gasped. His face brightened. “Yeah?”

Growing more confident, Axl nodded, eyes on Sean's lips. “I had an interview yesterday and they asked where I saw myself in five years...”

He swept a thumb over the flattering ink. He still couldn't believe it was there. Axl Forever. His name, a permanent part of Sean’s body. It made him a little breathless, but also gave him the nerve to face it. “I saw myself here. Or, you know, wherever you are.”

A bashful scoff, and Sean put their foreheads together. “I can go where you need me. I can bartend and earn my online degree anywhere.”

Axl stroked the back of Sean’s head and looked into his eyes. “But you're happiest here. With your new family. And I can get a good job anywhere. I proved that to myself when I was nailing that interview. What matters is I enjoy the life I lead outside of work, and that means you and bikes and seeing America together.”

“What about your folks? Aren't they mad?”

“Heh,” Axl smiled at the memory of the phone call he made on the road. Frankie had shouted for several minutes before Mike had taken over and asked all the right questions. “I mean, I surprised them. They were imagining me working and living nearby, but when they got the whole story they calmed down a little.”

“Just like that? Your parents are so cool.”

“Nah, they only act cool. Mom is kinda heartbroken so we should definitely go see her soon and, you know, let her do the huge send off thing and give her peace of mind.”

Sean smiled broadly and nodded. “Totally. I'd love to see them. We’ll drive down this weekend. I already have the time off and everything."

Axl glanced at what he could see of the house. “Where is everyone?”

“Oh, out and about. Work. Errands.”

“Soooo…. you're here alone?”

Sean's eyes glittered. “My room is this way.”

Axl followed him inside the house, already envisioning Sean naked, so when he saw an old guy on the sofa, he shouted in surprise. Mark looked up from the small tv and grinned.

“Oh, hello! Good to see you again, Axl!"

“Hi.” Axl back peddled, trying to appear composed in front of his host. Unashamed, Sean snaked his arms around him and tickled his love handles. Axl gasped and squirmed away. “Stop!”

Sean laughed happily. “Mark, mind clearing out for a few hours?”

“Oh gahd.” Axl's face flamed and he hid in Sean's bicep.

Mark chuckled on his way out the door. “Sure! Me casa es su casa.” He winked. “You boys have fun.”

Axl pinched Sean, who just laughed some more and picked him up by the hips. It made his belly flip and he lost his breath. “Shit.”

“House all to ourselves now.”

“Bedroom,” Axl ordered. He didn't trust that another biker wouldn’t just let themselves in, since Mark was so hospitable.

Sean carried him down the hall like a god. His hairy lips raked over Axl's face and neck, trailing hot breath and small noises of pleasure. By the time they reached the bed, Axl felt like jelly. His cock ached to be freed from his jeans, and his lips trembled with every breath.

“I want to be inside you,” Sean whispered.

Axl nodded erratically.

They tore away each other's clothes, kissed, and held hands as they moved together; becoming one. Axl liked to be on top. He liked the way Sean watched with liquid heat in his eyes as he rode his heart out until the bed shimmed and his voice broke. His stamina failed him. His thighs ached. He swore.

Sean rolled on top and took care of him with hushed words of adoration, driving into him until a powerful finish left them both exhausted in each other's arms.

Lazy kisses, bashful chuckles, and idle fingers tracing muscle, ink, and smiles. They talked about how they got here and, most importantly, where they were going.

Axl felt good, better than ever.

He didn't have everything figured out, but no one ever really does. The point is to do your best and now that Axl had Sean, he felt like he could do anything.

When they visited Orson that weekend, he had enough answers to keep his parents from worrying too much. He had a place to stay and a new job.

They could see how devoted he and Sean were to one another, and they could see past the leather jacket enough to recognize that Sean never really changed from the gracious boy next door. Mike liked everything they heard about the successful, retired Mark who was now Axl’s business mentor, and Frankie loved Axl’s plans for the future.

For now, Axl was paid to drive the bikes Mark built for enthusiasts all over the country. Maybe one day he would learn how to build them like Sean was doing. Or maybe he and Sean would open their own motorcycle shop somewhere. But they would always come home for every holiday and Frankie insisted she didn't need anything else so long as Axl was happy.

Lacing his fingers with Sean’s, he grinned and bobbed his head. “I am _so_ happy.”

_fin_

**Author's Note:**

> meh I am bad at endings sometimes but I had to wrap it up. This was meant to be short and simple (so naturally plot bunnies run amok lol)


End file.
